Blueblood Patterson waits his turn for another bite of cherry

Daniel Lane

A YEAR after he scored a century in his only Sheffield Shield match, NSW teenager Kurtis Patterson has ruled out following the path of Ed Cowan, Usman Khawaja, John Hastings and Peter Forrest to gain opportunity elsewhere.

While Cowan, Hastings and Forrest represented Australia as a result of gaining more time at the crease for their respective adopted states - Tasmania, Victoria and Queensland - Patterson made it clear he was a true-blue Bluebag and content to fine-tune his game in the state's second XI.

''That thought hasn't even crossed my mind,'' the 19-year-old said of joining what has become the annual migration of home-grown players from the SCG to all points of the map. ''I have a contract with NSW and I couldn't have accepted it any quicker than I did. [Changing states] is not even on my mind.

''I'm focused on making as many runs as I can in club cricket [for St George] and in the NSW seconds, that's all I am concerned about.''

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Patterson, who is a member of the Sydney Sixers Big Bash League squad, scored 157 on debut for NSW in last summer's match against Western Australia at the SCG. While he showed great maturity during his 212-minute stint Patterson explained there was an unfortunate reason for his not being sighted at the top level since.

''I was unlucky with a few injuries,'' he said. ''I tore my right hip a couple of times and came back for a club game and did my left quad. It was a bit of a tough time, last year, but it is looking positive right now.''

Patterson, who was a member of the Australian team that lost the final of the under-19 World Cup to India in August, said the experience he gained batting alongside fellow century-maker Simon Katich for the state gave him a great foundation.

''I couldn't have asked for a better start to my first-class career,'' he said. ''It was a great experience that provided me with an insight into what I had to be, what is expected. I've played every second XI game this season which is good experience. It has its challenges. Obviously you have to score as many runs as you can, but because there is a lot of people looking on the second XI games, you need to do the right things by the team and also acknowledge the team values we have in place for the first team and the second team.''